Flute Care and Maintenance

The flute is probably the most fragile of all the band instruments. It is very delicate

having many keys that move up and down covering the the tone holes. These keys are

made of soft metal and can easily be bent. The most common problem that occurs

with flutes is bent keys. If a key is bent even just slightly it will not cover or seal the

hole completely and therefore the flute will leak air. Consequently the flute will play

poorly or not at all.

Please remember that the biggest enemy of any flute is the player's hands. Anyone can

make a flute non-playable in a matter of seconds and they may not even know they are

doing it. If you do not assemble and disassemble your flute properly YOU WILL

DAMAGE YOUR FLUTE.

Also please remember that bent keys are Never Under Warranty.Do you know how to

assemble a flute??? Silly question? Anyone can assemble a flute you say. Can you

assemble and disassemble a flute CORRECTLY, so that you don't cause any damage to

the keys?

Surprisingly many players can not. Any flute can be put out of commission in a matter

of seconds if the keys get bent and put out of alignment. The easiest way to bend the

keys of a flute is to assemble and disassemble it the wrong way. Many players are not

even aware that they are damaging their flute. All they know is that their flute is in the

shop being adjusted all the time.

The main purpose of assembling the flute correctly is to avoid touching the keys. It's

simple, If you don't touch the keys, you can't bend the keys.

Now then, here is the correct way. Forget the way you were taught and any bad habits

you may have developed. Do it this way and you will never have to see a repair

technician. This will save you much aggravation and money.

Assembly

We must first know how to identify the three different parts of a flute.

1. The piece that touches your mouth and has no keys is the HEAD JOINT.

2. The largest piece with the most keys is the BODY

3. The smallest piece is the FOOT JOINT

Before we go any further, you must know which is your RIGHT hand and

your LEFT hand. Take a moment and figure this out first!

As mentioned above, the long part is the body of the flute. Pick up the body by the

edges. Always pick up the pieces by the edges, never by the keys.

Hold the body of the flute in your LEFT hand. Put your left hand where the writing or

brand logo is.

This is a good spot to hold it because there are no keys here. You can therefore

squeeze it as hard as you want and you will not hurt the flute.

Your LEFT hand DOES NOT MOVE from this spot during the whole assembly or

disassembly procedure.

Pick up the headjoint in your RIGHT hand and place it into the body of the flute. Do not

push it in as far as it goes. Leave about a quarter inch of the unplated part of the

headjoint showing. This is where you tune the flute. So if you push it in all the way, you

will be too sharp.

Line up the embouchure hole with the keys, so that they are in line.

Next pick up the foot joint from the side closest to the edge of the case in

your RIGHT hand. Remember your LEFT hand does not move from its location.

Turn the footjoint around and let gravity slide it down in your hand until you are

clamping the two large keys by the edge of your palm. This is very critical. You must

have your THUMB UP above the keys and not around the bottom of the piece. This is so

that when you assemble the footjoint and your hand slips you do not bend the keys

below your palm. If your thumb was wrapped around the footjoint you would bend the

keys when you twist on the footjoint. If fact the C# key on the footjoint is the most

common key to get bent on a flute. Its usually bent 10 minutes after the flute is

purchased.

Here is the correct position of your hand over the footjoint. Study it carefully.

Line up the headjoint so that the post that looks like a little round ball closest to the

edge of the footjoint lines up with the center of the closest key on the body of the

flute.

Disassembly

You disassemble the flute exactly the same way as you have assembled it but in

reverse order. Reverse order means that whatever you did last you do first.

Remember you hold the flute in your LEFT hand where the writing is and

your LEFT hand never moves from this spot during the whole operation.

Hold the flute again in your left hand where the writing of the brand-name is.

Remember your left hand does not move from this spot during the whole operation.

Clamp the foot joint with you right hand and your thumb on top.

Turn the foot joint around in your right hand and place it in the case.

Now, with your right hand you remove the head joint. Your left hand still has not

moved form its original location.

Now you grab the flute with your RIGHT hand and release your LEFT hand for the first

time during the whole operation. Your LEFT hand now holds the flute at the opposite

end of the body.

Place the body of the flute in the case. Well there you go. You have assembled and

disassembled your flute without touching any of the keys on the body and only

clamping the keys down on the footjoint. You have not bent any keys and your flute

remained in perfect alignment. Congratulations. Now, practice this 127 times and you

will be an expert and if you do it this way every time then you will never have to spend

money on flute repairs.

Cleaning

(actually its drying)

You don't actually clean a flute, you dry it by removing the moisture from the inside.

The pads of a flute do not like moisture. Do this drying procedure after every time you

play.

So, take a cloth, I use a J cloth that is made for the medical industry but it can be any

cloth as long as its not to big or not too small. I fold the cloth in half lengthwise and

thread one of the edges through the hole in the cleaning rod.

Wrap the cloth over the top of the rod so that you get the cloth all the way in as far as

the rod can reach. Now wrap the cloth tight all the way down the rod and hold the

cloth at the end of the rod in your RIGHT hand. This way the cloth will never bunch up

and get stuck in your instrument.

The most important part of the flute to dry is the headjoint because it gets the most

wet. Push the rod all the way in, twisting it as you move it in and out.

If you play for a longer period then also dry the body of the flute by first inserting the

cleaning rod from one side and then the other side.

Unravel the cloth, fold it in half and then in half again. Very neatly.

Now place it in the case on the headjoint side because there will be less keys on that

side. You don't want to squish any keys. Now you are all done. Time to watch TV.

IMPORTANT

Don't buy anything called a "cleaning kit" for your flute. All you need is a rod and a

cloth. The rod should always come free with your flute and you can find an appropriate

cloth. You should never do any other maintenance to your flute. I don't even

recommend that you polish your flute. Never use any silver polish. It is abrasive like

sandpaper and will either remove the silver plating on your flute or it will get into your

keywork and grind away. Ouch! You can use a silver polishing cloth, but why, as soon

as you touch the flute, your fingerprints will be on it again. Remember it is normal for

a silver or a silver plated flute to tarnish. You can have it de-tarnished by a repair

technician when the pads are replaced every 5 to 10 years.

You do not have to take your flute in for regular check ups. This is just a way some

repair technicians pretend that they are doctors and ask you to come back for a visit

regularly. They want to be as rich as doctors by having you return for no reason.

Remember if your flute is not broken, it cannot be fixed. First determine if your flute is

indeed broken by getting a second and third opinion. You can be sure that anything

you take to a repair technician will be considered broken. Even if your keys are bent

and out of alignment it shouldn't cost more than dinner for four at McDonalds.

Just make sure you take care of your flute by assembling and disassembling it properly

and never dropping it, banging it against furniture, hitting your brother or sister with it

or sitting on it.

Source: http://www.co-bw.com/Flute%20Care%20and%20Maintenance%20CBAW.htm